"Dame & LaMelo over Brunson is crazy" - NBA fans stunned over LaMelo Ball's surprising rise in 2025 All-Star guard rankings

One of the NBA's brightest stars in the 2024-25 NBA season has been Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball. Early in the season, the point guard is averaging 30.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists, making it one of his best seasons to date. With his performance, many fans have opted to vote for him to be in the All-Star game.

The first fan returns were revealed on Thursday. Fans saw where the Hornets star ranks among the backcourt players in the Eastern Conference.

The first return features Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets as the top vote-getter for the Western Conference with 1,422,121. For the Eastern Conference All-Stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 1,710,630 to be the leading vote-getter.

Ball leads the Eastern Conference backcourt with 947,444. He has received more votes than seasoned stars like Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard.

Fans couldn't believe the votes that the star guard collected in the first fan returns.

"Dame and lamelo over Brunson is crazy," one fan said.

"Lamelo ball loses 3 times a week…" another fan said.

"The biggest shock in Ball getting so many votes," a fan commented.

Other fans were excited for Ball.

"2025 ALLSTAR STARTER," a fan posted.

"'Lamelo Ball' leading East guards with that pristine 7-25 record showing his true impact🔥🔥🔥," another fan said.

"Lamelo leading the guards in the East is very shocking to me," one fan said.

With how Ball has been playing this season, he could get more support as the fan voting remains open. Despite Ball missing a few games due to injuries, fans still recognize how well the one-time All-Star has performed this year.

In the 2021–22 season, he was selected for the first time to replace Kevin Durant, who was then with the Brooklyn Nets.

---

How good has LaMelo Ball played?

LaMelo Ball is averaging the most points of his career this season. This is the first campaign where he's averaged at least 30 points. His efficiency from beyond the arc, however, has not been impressive. The 6-foot-7 point guard is shooting 34.6% from 3-point range, his career-worst.

However, his scoring has caught the attention of many. Ball started strong in his first 10 games, averaging 29.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 6.2 apg. In the succeeding games, he increased his production, even scoring 50 points in a loss against the Milwaukee Bucks.

He had another big scoring night the next game with 44 points in another loss against the Orlando Magic.